Data collection for the certificate “Fan project in accordance with the National Plan for Safety in Sports”
In Germany, there is a dense network of social work institutions in the field of adolescent soccer fans (fan projects) that work in accordance with the National Plan for Safety in Sports (German: Nationales Konzept Sport und Sicherheit). A certification of those fan projects has been launched in 2010. Offering fan projects an instrument of quality control, the certification is intended to pursue multiple goals: (a) establishing a common standard for fan projects, (b) increasing confidence in the work of fan projects, and (c) improving the working context of fan projects. The certificate has been awarded by the Quality Management Group of the Centre for Fan Project Coordination of the German Sports Youth (German: Koordinationsstelle Fanprojekte bei der Deutschen Sportjugend). Members of the Quality Management Group belong to several stakeholder groups: soccer, federal authorities (for family affairs), science, and fan projects themselves.
During a first subproject (5/2015-6/2016), CEval GmbH (a) revised the certification process, (b) tested the revised certification process on five fan projects, and (c) developed a standardized, feasible concept for collecting information necessary for certification. Thereby the certificate attests fan projects high quality of work.
Within second subproject, CEval GmbH supported the nationwide roll-out of the revised certification by collecting all necessary information on all the remaining German soccer fan projects.
Impact analysis of the project “Kita im Aufbruch: Prozessbegleitung Richtung Nachhaltigkeit” [Kita im Aufbruch: Process support for sustainability in education]
The State Association for the Protection of Birds in Bavaria e.V. (Landesbund Vogelschutz, LBV) had implemented the environmental education project “Kita im Aufbruch: Process support for sustainability in education” between November 2020 and March 2022. The aim of the project was to contribute to the structural embedment of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in early childhood care by process support for selected Bavarian day-care centers. The CEval GmbH conducted an impact analysis of the project. By means of a before-and-after survey of day-care center staff, parents and day-care center operators, the impact of the project on the competencies of the pedagogical staff and the quality of educational offers as well as pedagogical processes in terms of ESD had been investigated. In addition, the CEval team further analyzed to what extent the project contributes to a holistic transformation of the learning and teaching environment towards a structural embedment of ESD in the daycare centers. In addition to pedagogical concepts, this also includes the areas of sustainable procurement and catering in the sense of a sustainable menu. In order to be able to clearly assign observed effects and impacts to the interventions of the project, the impact analysis was based on a quasi-experimental design including comparison groups (daycare centers without participation in process support) into the survey. The team combined, qualitative and quantitative survey methods in the process of data collection.
Evaluation of APPEAR projects (programme periods I and II)
The Austrian Partnership Programme in Higher Education and Research for Development (APPEAR) is conceived, guided and financed by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) to implement its “Higher Education and Scientific Cooperation” strategy in support of Higher Education and Research for Development on an academic institutional level. The funded projects are implemented by the Austrian Agency for International Mobility and Cooperation in Education, Science and Research (OeAD GmbH). APPEARs overall objective is to strengthen the institutional capacities in higher education, research and management through Academic Partnerships with Austrian higher education institutions and through scholarships. The partnerships aim to improve the general standards in higher education, research and management by means of knowledge sharing and designing innovative projects. The achievement of these objectives should finally contribute to effective and sustainable reduction of poverty in the partner countries.
The overarching goal of the evaluation was to assess the ongoing and completed projects of the APPEAR periods I and II. Thereby, it provided insights about the projects adherence to the APPEAR guidelines and basic principles during their implementation, and about the extent to which they were to achieve their objectives and results. Furthermore, the projects were assessed according to the OECD/DAC criteria Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability. The objective of the evaluation was to identify the strengths, weaknesses and challenges of the APPEAR projects and present conclusions, lessons learnt and recommendations for the remaining or future projects.
The evaluation made use of a variety of methods. Primary data was collected during project visits to Ethiopia and Uganda, interviews and focus group discussions with project partners in Austria as well as virtual interviews with staff and key stakeholders of two projects in Nicaragua. The data collection instruments also comprised semi-standardized surveys, programme and project documentations and previous programme evaluations.
Evaluation of CAPAQUA
CAPAQUA (Development of Educational and Research CAPacity in Eastern Africa for the Sustainable Management of AQUAatic Ecosystems) aims at enhancing the capacity of Eastern African Higher Education, Science and Technology (HEST) institutions. CAPAQUA is jointly implemented by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, the Egerton University (EGU), the Addis Ababa University (AAU), the Bahir Dar University and the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research, National Fish and Other Aquatic Lives Research Center (EIAR-NFALRC). CAPAQUAs overall objective is to foster sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems and their resources in order to improve livelihoods in Eastern Africa and to contribute towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The main purpose of the evaluation was to identify successes as well as weaknesses of the project, and to provide recommendations for the project partners to improve the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of possible future CAPAQUA projects. The evaluation was also analysing the extent to which the cross-cutting issue gender mainstreaming was applied and identified the major factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the expected project results and objectives. In order to assess the project, the evaluation focussed on the project period from October 2015 to September 2018.
A rich set of mainly qualitative data was collected by means of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with different stakeholders, programme participants, graduates as well as staff. Programme and project documentations provided secondary data and was complemented by primary data collected during focus group discussions. The geographic focus of the evaluation was the Eastern African region, with emphasis on Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia, where empirical data was collected during short field visits. Additionally, Austrian institutions were visited and stakeholders interviewed.
Evaluation of the program “DLR-DAAD Research Fellowships”
Since 2008 the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the German AcademicExchange Service (DAAD) are jointly implementing a research fellowship programme with a focus on energy, aeronautics, space and transport related disciplines. The programme aims at contributing to the internationalization of DLR institutes as well as promoting researchers who maintain a relation to Germany as partners and friends. The goal of the evaluation was twofold: On the one hand, it should assess the programmes medium- and long-term effects. On the other hand, it identified potentials for improvement and come up with suggestions for necessary adaptions in view of a possible future continuation of the programme. In terms of methodology, the evaluation relied on a mix of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods. Among others, guided interviews, focus group discussions, on-site visits as well as an online survey were implemented.
Scientific support of an impact analysis of the project “egal war gestern – towards sustainability at vocational schools”
The Landesbund für Vogelschutz in Bayern (LBV) e.V. implemented the project Towards sustainability at vocational schools in the school term 2018/19 for the second time. It aimed at mobilizing the youth for matters of sustainability. More precisely, the project was geared towards students at Bavarian vocational schools who find themselves in the important period of professional orientation. The goal was to direct their attention to sustainability questions and to strengthen their awareness of those issues. To achieve this goal, the students were expected to independently implement projects in their respective schools in order to contribute to a more sustainable school life.
The project was subject to an impact analysis, which was jointly implemented by LBV and CEval GmbH within the context of an accompanying evaluation. The purpose was to determine whether the intended effects of the project were actually achieved, that is, whether the attitudes and behavior of the participating students actually changed in relation to sustainability matters and whether those matters are more readily integrated into the everyday life at Bavarian vocational schools. In terms of methodology the analysis was based on a standardized survey before and after the project with both the participating students and a comparison group of students. Furthermore, guided interviews with the teachers who support the students in the implementation of their projects were conducted before and after the project.
Accompanying evaluation of the support program of the AMASE Masters-program
Together with a consortium of three other European universities (Luleå Technical University, Sweden, Barcelona Tech, Spain and Université de Lorraine, France) the European School of Materials (EUSMAT) at Saarland University offers the international Masters programme AMASE (Advanced Materials Science and Engineering). Its students have the opportunity to participate in an Integration Week in Saarbrücken right at the beginning of their studies, which aims at providing an orientation with regards to the course of the AMASE programme as well as strengthening the students? soft skills through a number of trainings. After the first year of study in the two-year AMASE programme, the students furthermore have the opportunity to take part in a Professional Summer School aiming at facilitating their career entry.
Both events are part of the AMASE support programme and were evaluated within the context of an accompanying evaluation. The main goal was to determine the use of those events for their respective target groups. In methodological terms two standardized surveys as well as a number of focus group discussions were conducted with participants of the two events.
Integration of the Programme “Service Agency Communities in One World” (SKEW) in the M&E-System of Engagement Global
Engagement Global gGmbH was established in 2012 as a central institution to promote and coordinate the development policy commitment of civil society, municipal and private sector actors as well as for development policy information and education work. SKEW a program of Engagement Global focuses in particular on the promotion of municipal development cooperation. In order to be able to monitor both the appropriate use of the funds and above all their effectiveness, Engagement Global has created a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system for all departments and programs. Since SKEW was excluded in the development of the monitoring system at that time, CEval and ISPO were commissioned to integrate SKEW into the organization-wide monitoring system.
As with the design of the company-wide M&E system, first the theory of change and indicators were reviewed or developed. Then the objectives and indicators were integrated into the strategical claims of Engagement Global. In order to complete the creation of a monitoring system for the SKEW, a data collection plan were created and the associated data collection instruments had been (further) developed.
External Evaluation of the Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP II) and Netherlands Initiative for Capacity Development in Higher Education (NICHE II)
On behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) the CEval implemented an external Evaluation of the Dutch Fellowship Programme (NFP II) and Netherlands Initiative for Capacity Development in Higher Education (NICHE II). Financed by the MFA and administered by the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education ‘EP-Nuffic’, these programs offer capacity development in higher education for developing partner countries.
The overall aim of NFP and NICHE is to help reduce quantitative and qualitative shortage of trained professional staff in developing countries and to build sustainable capacity within the poverty reduction Framework. The NFP provides Fellowships to mid-career professionals to participate in Trainings and postgraduate courses in the Netherlands. NICHE is a capacity building programme to improve the quality, relevance and gender sensitiveness of post-secondary education in NICHE-countries.
The evaluation covered the period of 2002-2015 while a focus was on the latest project phase since 2012 which put an additional emphasis on economic diplomacy and closer alignment with the four priority themes of the Dutch development cooperation strategy (water, sexual reproductive health and rights, security and rule of law and food security). The purpose of the evaluation was to account for the Netherlands funding provided for the two programs under the current project cycle and to gain lessons for future policy development and implementation. Within the scope of the evaluation, both programs were analysed regarding the OECD/DAC criteria of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. Recommendations for possible optimization of the program were developed on the basis of the findings. The evaluation was conducted in cooperation with ACE Europe, a Belgian consultancy.
Process Evaluation of the career support program ‘Securing Talents – Shaping the Future’ (2019/2020)
The program ‘Securing talents – shaping the future’ by the Cusanuswerk aims to support future female leaders. The program focuses on mentoring elements that is tutorial support for scholarship holders by professionally experienced academics. It also focuses on occupationally specific training and support measures as well as on building a peer-network. The CEval has been conducting accompanying external evaluations to ensure quality management since the start of the career support program in 2007. An accompanying evaluation also take place during the seventh program run 2019/2020. The main task of this evaluation was to provide the responsible employees with management-related information. In this context, questions regarding satisfaction with the offered events, quality of tutorial relationships as well as questions regarding professional and personal use of the relationships for both sides are especially relevant. In regards to methods, the evaluation covered standardized questionnaires of mentees and mentors compared at three points in time.